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Category Archives: Braise

If you haven’t heard, humble cuts of meat are in. Once unpopular, these tough, fairly inexpensive cuts are now on the rise, making frequent appearances on restaurant menus and dinner tables everywhere.

Short ribs, cut from the rib and plate primals of the steer, are a favorite in my house. Braising breaks down the tissues and tenderizes the beef, resulting in rich, meaty flavor. In my book, braising and wine go hand-in-hand, so I decided to pair some short ribs with a robust bottle of Zinfandel. The outcome was insanely delicious. Shred the beef and serve over pasta for a meal guaranteed to impress.

Pat the ribs dry and season liberally with salt and pepper. In a large Dutch oven, heat about two tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat. Brown the ribs on all sides, in batches, if necessary. If the olive oil gets soaked up between batches, add some more before searing the next batch of ribs. Once browned, remove the ribs to a plate.

Add the onions to the pot and cook till tender, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook an additional minute. Pour in some of the wine and scrape up the brown bits at the bottom of the pan using a wooden spoon. Pour in the remainder of the bottle of wine, then add the porcini mushrooms. Return the short ribs to the pot. Add enough beef stock to completely cover the ribs. Add the rosemary and thyme, then bring the mixture to a simmer. Cover the pot and transfer to the oven. Cook until the ribs are tender and falling off the bone, about 2.5 to 3 hours.

Remove the ribs from the pot and set aside to cool. Using an immersion blender, blend the juices and vegetable until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, if needed. Bring the sauce to a simmer and reduce until thick, about 20 to 30 minutes.

When the short ribs are cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bones and shred. Return the beef to the pot with the reduced sauce. At this point, the ragu can be cooled and stored in the refrigerator for the following day. This will allow the flavors to fully develop. This is a great make-ahead dish!

When you’re ready to put the meal together, re-heat the ragu. Fill a large pot with water and season generously with salt. Bring to a boil. Stir in pasta and cook until al dente. Drain pasta and combine with short rib ragu. Serve with a sprinkle of fresh parsley. Enjoy!

Ever heard of or seen pork belly and wonder, “What the heck is that?” Yeah, me too.

At work, I go through dozens and dozens of invoices each week, looking over the product sent to us by wholesale distributors. We go through hundreds of boxes of pork belly each month and I always used to wonder, “What do people use this for?” It wasn’t until fairly recently that I discovered most of the restaurants and cuchifritos we supply cut the pork belly into small chunks and deep fry. Talk about a coronary on a plate!

Picture Courtesy of Wikipedia

Pork belly is exactly what it sounds like — the meat from the belly of the pig. It’s very fatty and definitely not diet food. Besides being commonly used in cuchifritos, I discovered that pork belly is extremely popular in Korean and Chinese cuisine. Hmmm, I guess I’ll have to check for that the next time we order from Oriental House!

When I saw Anne Burrell braise a piece of pork belly on Secrets of a Restaurant Chef, I said to myself, “Hey, I’ve seen pork belly! I know what that is!” My inner foodie jumped at the chance to make it. This is definitely not part of a low calorie, low fat diet. Don’t check your Weight Watcher’s Points Calculator, unless you want to pass out. This is a delicious, once-in-a-while, “wow, I made that?” dish. Start it in the morning and let it braise while you do a few loads of laundry, mow the lawn, whatever. The result will be a succulent piece of pork that falls apart in your mouth. Yum.

Combine all the dry rub ingredients in a bowl. Massage the rub all over the pork belly, then cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Coat a large, high-sided pan with olive oil and put over medium-high heat. Add the onion, celery, and garlic. Season the vegetables with the crushed red pepper and salt, to taste. Cook the vegetables until they start to soften, about 10 to 12 minutes. Add the wine and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Stir in the mustard and chicken stock. Add the pork belly, then toss in the thyme and bay leaves. Cover and put in the preheated oven. Braise the belly for 6 hours, checking occasionally and rotating the pan half way through the cooking process.

After the 6 hours, remove the lid and set the oven to broil. Broil the pork belly for a few minutes, until it gets a nice golden color. Transfer the pork belly to a cutting board and cut into portions. Arrange the pork on a platter, or serve onto plates and pour some of the braising liquid on top. This goes nicely with mashed potatoes or rice, and some wilted greens, such as kale or mustard greens.